Due to the tremendous progress and wide application of computerized image processing technology, many images may be processed by a computer and used in a variety of applications. These applications include storage, transmission, replay, recognition, matching and creation of images.
In most applications, images to be processed are input into a computer by an input device and stored in the memory device of the computer. Applicable input devices include analog cameras, digital cameras and planar scanners. No matter what the input device is, an input image is transformed into a digitized format before it is stored. In most cases. the input image is divided into pixels, each comprising three original color components. Each original color components are represented by a gray level value which stands for the brightness of the respective color component of the pixel. Although an image so processed will be distorted, such format is satisfactory to most applications of images. In general, the brightness of a color component is divided into 256 levels and represented by 0 to 255 where greater values indicate darker pixels and smaller values indicate brighter pixels.
In some applications of image processing, it is necessary to emphasize a particular color. These applications include recognition of images, diagnosis of diseases. identification of seal prints and signatures. In these applications, it is necessary to preprocess the input image in order to filter out noise contained in the image and to purify the image. Especially when the input image is a true color image, its components of a particular color may include influences from other colors, due to poor illumination conditions. Purification of colored image has thus become an important task in these applications.
Although many technologies have been invented to improve the quality of color images, most of the technologies are aimed at the improvement of all color components. Very few of them may be applied to improve the quality of a single color of a colored image.
There is thus a need to provide a novel method for the improvement of digitized images that is capable to of emphasizing components of a single color of a colored image.
There is also a need to provide a novel method for the improvement of digitized images to purify the components of a single color of the colored image.
There is also a need to provide a device to improve digitized images according to the above methods.